By the time Friday rolled around Ella could barely contain her excitement at the prospect of a date, not even the name-calling at school had dragged her down. It had carried on for a couple of days, but one of Christian's friends had made the mistake of saying something in front of Steve. Steve's threatening look alone was enough to have shut them up and she hadn't heard anything since Thursday lunch.
She'd also told her parents about her plan to go on a date with Bucky, and she'd received a bit of a mixed response. Her dad was fairly indifferent, 'he seems like a good kid' was about all he had to say, accompanied of course by the usual generic warning of 'be careful'. Ella wasn't sure exactly what he was referring to and she didn't ask. She'd had the sex talk before, and it was unbearable enough for her never to need a repeat. Her mom was a little concerned, she'd started off by saying she was happy for Ella, and she sounded genuine, however, she then followed it up with a 'but', Ella stopped listening at that point, not wanting an ounce of negativity in her mind. She knew her mom probably had valid concerns, and maybe after the date she'd listen to them. But not yet.
Ella had made a bit of extra effort at school that day, she wore makeup for what was probably the first time that term and she swapped her usual oversized tee for a tight cropped option, paired with a leather jacket. Her efforts hadn't gone unnoticed by her friends. Nat and Wanda both commented on it, although Wanda was the only one to keep her comment PG. It also seemed her efforts weren't lost on Bucky, who wasted no time that morning telling her that she looked especially good. He was looking her dead in the eye as he said and for a second Ella thought he was going to kiss her right there in the corridor. But he didn't, and it took every ounce of self restraint he had.
When the bell rang at the end of the day, Ella went straight out to Bucky's car. He was already there, leaning against the door while he waited. It was cold out but still sunny, and he was wearing sunglasses. Ella couldn't look away, all she could think about was how good he looked.
"Hey, you," he smiled, pulling her into a hug.
"Hey yourself," she replied. "Are we just heading straight off?" she asked. Bucky had said he'd plan their date, and Ella left him to it, she loved surprises so didn't ask for details. Initially, Bucky had been a little worried that this was a sign of unenthusiasm, but after she'd randomly brought up how excited she was a couple of times he pushed those fears aside.
"Yep, it's a little bit of a drive so we should head off, I don't want to be bringing you home too late"
"Trying to stay in my parents' good books?" she teased.
"Uh, yeah. And Steve's. I saw how protective he was over you the other day, I'm not taking any chances," he laughed, but there was a definite undertone of fear.
The two of them chatted as they started the drive, filling each other in on their weeks. Most of the time they'd spent together had been spent in the library working, so they hadn't had many opportunities to properly talk. After a while, Bucky put some music on in the background, this sparked a whole new conversation about what music they liked. Unsurprisingly, they had similar tastes, as always seemed to be the way. They'd nearly made it through an entire album before Bucky pulled up the car. They were in a small town Ella had never been to before, she wasn't sure she could even remember what it was called. Bucky jumped out of the car and Ella followed suit, he took her hand and guided her towards a cafe.
"Okay, so I know you say your mom's pie is the best in the world, but this place has to be a close second," Bucky smiled.
Ella stopped dead in her tracks. "You brought me to get pie?!" she asked in shock.
Bucky panicked, "uh... yeah. Is that okay?"
"It's perfect!" Ella laughed. She smiled to herself, 'perfect' was the only word for it. She was pleasantly surprised at how much attention Bucky apparently paid to her.
Once they were inside, Bucky ordered a few different slices and drinks before joining Ella at a table by the window. The café was on the main street, and Ella was enjoying people watching, however, she quickly turned her attention back to Bucky.
They chatted until the waitress came and placed their order on the table and they wasted no time digging in.
"Okay, my mom has some serious competition," Ella smiled between mouthfuls. "How did you know about this place?"
"I used to come with my family when we visited my grandparents, to be honest I wasn't sure it was still here, I haven't been in years," Bucky replied.
Bucky had always been a little elusive about his family, despite his openness about his parents' divorce the first time he'd been to her house, so Ella was surprised by the casualness of his comment. She wanted to know a little more, she had no idea where his dad was, or even where exactly he'd lived before he moved. She knew it was Indiana, but past that he'd never said anything more.
"Were they your mom's parents?" She asked carefully.
"Yeah, my dad's parents are back in Indiana," he answered.
She decided to ask one more question and leave it at that.
"Whereabouts?"
He looked a little uncomfortable, he was also aware that this was the most they'd talked about his family.
"Like 45 minutes from Indianapolis," he answered, deciding that was the last question he was going to answer. He was relieved when Ella didn't ask another. His parents' divorce was still fresh, and although he wasn't lying when he said he was relieved by it, he was still finding the adjustment hard. Bucky wanted to be able to talk to Ella about it, but he knew it wouldn't happen yet.
When they were done in the café they walked aimlessly around the town hand in hand until it started to get dark. On the drive home Ella put on one of her playlists and the two of them belted out ABBA's greatest hits at the top of their lungs. They kept glancing over and laughing at each other, Ella was sure every time she looked at him she could feel herself starting to fall in love. Their throats were hoarse from singing by the time they got back to Ella's house. Ella invited him in to watch a movie, neither of them ready for the night to come to an end just yet.
Her parents were sitting in the living room, the movie they had on TV was coming to an end.
When Ella stuck her head in to tell them she was home her mom had a knowing look on her face.
"How was the date?" She asked.
Ella smiled, "it was good, we had pie, pie almost as good as yours. And the date is actually still going on." She gestured to the hallway where Bucky was waiting patiently. At the mention of him, he stepped into the living room to say hello.
Ella's parents exchanged glances, and her dad quickly turned off the TV.
"We'll leave the living room for you two," he said.
Ella groaned and dropped her head back, she'd been hoping to go upstairs and cuddle in bed as they had the week before. Bucky gently nudged her, letting her know he didn't mind.
As her parents left the room Joseph put on his best scary dad face.
"Do I need to have the talk with you?" He asked Bucky.
Bucky shook his head, unsure how serious Ella's father was being, "no, Sir."
"Dad!" Ella grumbled.
"Okay, okay. Have a good night, and Bucky, if you're staying you can stay in the spare room," it wasn't an offer but a warning.
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